Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (14 page)

“
I should ask you the same. 
How did you find me
?
” Sariel countered.

Tarsaeel
’s
lowered eyebrows revealed
concern
, which only made Sariel more
alarmed.

“
I was notified when you didn’t report back
,” the angel replied.  “
I checked with
Batna
, but they didn’t find your body on the battlefield.  I knew you’d die before being taken prisoner, so I figured—”

Sariel nodded.

“What are you doing here Sariel?”

“
…
try
i
ng to help
.”

“
No. 
What you’re doing is
forbidden.”

“Is it?” Sariel asked.  “How is this different
from
the early days?  These people
still
need our help.”

Tarsaeel
dropped his head.  “The difference is that it was necessary then.  Now you’re operating in disobedience.”

Sariel breathed heavily without letting his gaze leave the eyes of his
former
friend.  “I’m not going back.
  There is too much to do.  And
here…I’m actually making a difference.
”

Tarsaeel
exhaled.  “Look.  Everyone knows it was a mistake to put your unit in that battle.”

Sariel squinted.  “Everyone except my commanding officers, you mean.”

“They just needed bodies,”
Tarsaeel
offered.  “We knew you’d be outnumbered.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Sariel replied, louder than he intended.  When he spoke again, he lowered his voice.  “Something’s wrong. 
I can’t explain it.  But something is wrong with the execution of our mission. 
And w
ith your responsibilities, you can probably see it better than anyone.  Our leadership is going down the wrong path.”

“Are you suggesting that we become like the enemy?  That we fight like them?  Dece
it?  Treachery?”

“No,” Sariel replied.  “Perhaps.  I don’t know,” he
said
finally
with a wave of his hand.  “
It just seems like the enemy is willing to go to greater lengths to win.  Meanwhile, we have to play by all the rules.  Any they just keep reinventing the conflict.  How can we win against that?”

Tarsaeel’s jaw clinched and his face went rigid.
  “We can win because we’re on the right side
!
  Or some of us
are
.”

Sariel immediately forgave the insult.  He understood
the
soldier’s
anger.  He would have said the same thing just a few years ago.  “
Look,” he said putting his hand up in a gesture of submission.  “I haven’t abandoned the cause.  I’m just putting my efforts to better use.”

Tarsaeel s
lowly shook his head from side to side.  “You deceive yourself. 
Omynd
is over.  This realm is self-sufficient.  And your emotions are swayed by lust.”

It took Sariel a moment to realize that
the angel
spoke
of Sheyir.
  “Lust
?
  Is that what you think it is?”

“How could it be anything else?” Tarsaeel said dismissively.  “We are not human.  They are the ones who must mate in order
for their species
to survive.  But we are not like them.”

“To hear you reduce it to such a base level tells me that you really never understood what we were doing,” Sariel said.  Now he was the one who was disappointed.  “
It’s called love.  And obviously, you’ve never experienced it.  But, as unfortunate as that is, it doesn’t matter anyway because she has nothing to do with this.
  The real issue is that, while there’s a war going on and we’re busy killing each other in that realm, there are casualties in this realm.  People are suffering here.  Creation is changing here and people are dying.  But we don’t get to see the result of our actions.  We’re prevented from seeing how our ineffective strategy is actually failing.
”

“She has everything to do with this
,” Tarsaeel
said
quietly, suddenly changing the tone of the argument
.
  “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

These last words caused a surge of
apprehension
in Sariel’s heart.
  Rarely had
Tarsaeel
ever spoken with such a melancholy warning.  Holding the rank of
Sau
-
Rada
in
the
Viytur
, the
I
ntelligence arm of the
Amatru
, Tarsaeel
had access to information that few were authorized to know.

“What do you mean?” Sariel asked,
now
very concerned.

“You’ll know soon enough.  Anyway…” he said dismissively.  “…I
’m not
at liberty
to discuss such things with you. 
I came to warn you of a coming conflict.”

Sariel ran his fingers through his hair.  His mind was still reeling from
the enigmatic words about Sheyir,
but it was clear that he wouldn’t get any more information.

“
…a conflict?  H
ere?” Sariel asked.

“Yes.  You’re not the only one to have crossed over.  Have you heard
of
Semjaza
?”

“No.”

Tarsaeel continued
.  “He’s
a
Pri
-
Rada
of
a
joint operations
group, or he used be
.  He crossed over
years ago
with
three divisions of
Anduar
ym
,
Iryllur
ym
, and
V
i
dir
ym
.  He’s already set up
his own earthly kingdom
and has
quite a strong position.
”
8

Sariel opened his mouth, then shut it again
and looked to the sky in frustration.  “This is what I’m talking about.  So we didn’t do anything about it when he crossed over.  But now that he’s established
himself
, we’re trying to plan something?”

Tarsaeel
shrugged.  “You know as well as I do that there just aren’t enough resources to address every problem.
”

“Yeah,” Sariel replied, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

“Look at it this way,”
Tarsaeel
continued
, leaning forward to tower
over
Sariel’s shorter, human form
.  “That very same lack of
resources is precisely why the
Amatru
hasn’t invaded this place and dragged you back to
the
E
ternal realm
.”

“
Why are you telling me this
anyway
?”

“
Because your
Pri
-
Rada
is
coordinating with a mission to
pay him a visit.  I expect it’ll be bloody, and I’d hate for you to be mistaken for one of them
.”

“I didn’t think that mattered to you anymore,”
Sariel
replied, turning to look out across the
valley to
Bokhar
.

“
You’re not the only one here,”
Tarsaeel said flatly.  “Are you sure you still want to make
it
your home? 
I
t’s not too late to come back.”

Sariel
looked up into Tarsaeel’s eyes.  In that
instant
,
he saw the uncountable number of wars they’d faced
together
.  He saw the faces of his fellow soldiers dying in agony.  He saw the beauty of creation reduced to a wasteland.  Then he
saw Sheyir
;
her
vulnerability.  Who
would protect her?  Who would love her?  Who
else was
even capable of knowing her?

“I
’m sorry, I truly am.  But I
can’t
go back.”

Tarsaeel’s
eyes closed slowly. 
“Be safe,” he said
simply
,
when
they opened again.

In his voice, Sariel could hear
something that he hadn’t heard in ages—the farewell of someone who didn’t expect him to survive what he was about to face.
  As Tarsaeel turned and
walked up the hill, disappearing into the trees,
his warning echoed
in Sariel’s ears.

You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.

Deep in his spirit, Sariel was inclined to agree.  But that had never stopped him before.  And the thought of leaving Sheyir was unbearable.  So, he watched his
former
friend go
and wondered
if it was the last time they’d see each other.

*   *   *   *

What had taken Enoch most of the day to climb, the animal on which he rode descended by the time the sun had set.  With the orange light now behind the horizon, the sky began to darken quickly.  Running
effortlessly
, the beast moved west, then north along the base of
Gadol Har
-
Marah
.

Enoch’s legs were cramped from trying to hold tight to the animal’s abdomen.  And the passing night air against his naked skin chilled him to the bone.  Tucking down into the thick fur, he sought the warmth of the animal’s body as he watched the terrain slip past at unbelievable speeds.  Within an hour the creature began to slow
, then stopped altogether
.

Enoch sat up to take note of his surroundings. 
The air was clear of the usual mist and the stars seemed bright overhead. 
To the west, moonlight glittered on the surface of a large body of water.  To the southeast, a pale orange glow illuminated the base of
Gadol
Har-Marah
.

“What is that?” Eno
ch whispered, mostly to himself.

“
The inhabitants call it
Khelrusa
.  I believe your people call it
Khanok
,”
the beast
answered.

“
I’ve never seen it before
.
”

“And you won’t tonight,” it
replied
.  “We’re going this way.”

Enoch looked down and realized that the animal was standing in the middle of a wide path of bare soil, which cut across the grasslands.  The path ran toward
Khanok
in one direction and toward the water in the other direction.

“Hold on,” the beast cautioned.  “I’ll be moving faster now.”

Faster?  I thought we were already moving faster.

The animal lunged into motion and Enoch ducked down, gripping the fur with all the strength left in his hands.
 
A short while later, a mountain
range
of jagged rock
rose from the horizon
.
  Seeming out of place among the grass-covered flatlands, Enoch marveled at
its
unusual appearance
. 
Gradually, the path began to climb into the mountains, but the beast
maintained his extraordinary pace
,
never
showing
any signs of tiring.

Holding tight for safety and warmth, Enoch watched the
crude
stone pass by, its
irregular
silhouette looking
menacing
against the night sky.

After rounding numerous corners and changing directions multiple times, the
beast
slowed to a trot, then a walk.  “It’s time to use your legs again,” it said, finally stopping.

As
it
crouched, Enoch slid over the side of its back
and collapsed as soon as his feet touched the ground.  His legs were numb from the ride
. 
As he sat in the rough dirt, massaging his
useless limbs
, stars began to swim at the edge of his vision.  He quickly rubbed his eyes, then realized that the light wasn’t an apparition.  All around him, the air was filled with tiny sparks of light, drifting outward from the glowing body of the creature who towered above him.  Its form seemed to dissolve slowly as more pieces of light ventured into the air.